Incased universal joint.



No. 768,407. PATENTED AUG. 23, 1904. C. W. SPI-CER. INGASED UNIVERSAL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 15,1904.

- ATTORNEYS Patented Augusezs, 19041 v UNiTEn ISTATES lPATENT. OFFICE.

CLARENCE W. SPICER, OF ITHACA, NEW YORK.v

INCASED UNIVERSAL JOINT..

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No; 768,407, dated August, 1904.

Application filed February 15, 1904. Serial No.,193,496. (No model.) I

` TQ all whom, it may concern.:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE W. SPICER, a citizen'of the United States, residing at Ithaca,

in the county of Tompkins and State of New i York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 1n Incased Universal J omtsg' and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear', and exact description of the inven' tion, such as will enableothers skilled in the artto which it appertains to make and use the I will now proceed to describe my inven-V tion,with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which certain4 forms of universaljoints and casings therefor are illustrated, and

will then point out the novel features in claims.

In the said drawings, Figure l shows two universal joints constructed in accordance with my invention connected to shafts, the arrangement shown being one employed in transmission mechanism of automobiles. In

this View the joints and their casings are shown in section. Fig. 2 shows a similar section of an alternative form of combined universal joint and casing. Fig. 3 shows -a face view of the combined brake-disk and casing member, illustrating one form of brake which may be applied thereto.

Referring first to Fig. 1, said figure shows V- two shafts, 1 and 2, of which either may be a driving-shaft and the other a driven shaft,

and an intermediate shaft i3, connected to shafts 1 and 2 by universal joints'll. The said joints are similar in construction in all respects, except that one of the'joints is arranged to form part of a friction-brake.

comprises, as is usual in universal joints, two shaft members 5 and 6, pivoted to an inter- Each joint mediate member 7, the axis of the pivot of one shaft member being at right angles to the axis of the pivot of the other shaft member.-

Each of the shaft members 5 and 6 has projecting horns 8 to receive the pivots 13, lwhich. connect it to the intermediate member 7; but, whereas the rear surface of shaft member 6 is spherically curvedv to engage a sphericallycurved casing 9 inclosing it, the member 5 is disk-shaped and is setas closely to the intermediate member 7 as it is practicable to set it without limiting unduly the anglethrough which the joint may transmit motion. The

casing 9 is secured to this disk member 5.l vvSaid casing is provided with a polar orifice through which the' shaft member 3 projects,

I and the casing 9, being located rin a suitable the polar oriiicebeing considerably larger than the said shaft, so as to permit the necesv sary angular play of said shaft. Packing materiallO is provided between the member 6 groove in one of the two coacting sphericallyl curved surfaces.`

' By formingone of the joint members 5 and' 6 as a disk I am enabled not only to make the joint shorter practically than would be possible if bothmembers ofthe joint would 1 be shaped like the member 6 and adapt mem- Aber 5 to have the casing secured directly to it, but also reduce materially the weight of the jointand facilitate its manufacture by re- Aducing thennumber of spherical surfaces to v,be formed and also adapt the said member 5 to form onefof the members of a frictionbrake. For this latter purpose the disk mein'l ber 5 may be provided'with a'brake-flange 11,

expanding and contracting` the brake-band,

the oneillustrated being wellA known and re- .quiring no detailed description, orinstead of :the brake-band I may use any other well known device for movingv friction-surfaces into .or out of engagement withv the said `flange 11.

Universal joints of the type to which this invention relates areA extensively used in the transmission mechanism of automobiles for IOO transmitting motion from the motor to the driving-axle or counter-shaft from which the wheels are driven. The arrangement of shafts and joints shown in Fig. 1 is such an arrangement as is commonly employed in auf avoids the necessity of providing the drivingshaft with a separate brakedrum and reduces the number of parts.

rIhe casing 9, coacting with the sphericallycurved rear surface of the shaft member 6, inclosesthe joint completely, preventing the entrance of dirt, dust, and the likeand also forming a reservoir for lubricant with which the joint may be kept thoroughly lubricated. All the parts of the joint, however, are readily accessible,for by unscrewing the screws which hold the easingto the member said casing may be slipped off, thus exposing the parts of the joint to view.

In terming the members 5 and 6 of the joint shaft members, I do not intend thereby to imply that said members must necessarily be connected to shafts. They must of course be connected to any other parts to or from which motion is to be transmitted.

rlhe spherically-curved surface of the shaft member 6, which coacts with the casing 9, is not necessarily integral with the portion of said shaft member which engages the intermediate member 7. This is illustrated in Fig. 2, in which the portion of the shaft member coacting with the casing is a sphericallycurved cap 14, arranged at the back of the main portion 15 of the shaft member 6. It is obvious, however, that the e'ect of this construction is precisely the same as that of the construction shown in Fig. 1.

It is obvious that my invention is susceptible of many variations and modifications, and therefore I do not limit myself to the particular details of construction illustrated and described.

I/Vhat I claim is- 1. In auniversal joint, the combination with an intermediate member and two shaft members, one comprising a disk having horns by which it is pivotally connected to said intermediate member, the other shaft member likewise pivotally connected to said intermediate member and having a spherically-curved rear face, of a spherically-curved casing inclosing said second shaft member and fitting closely to the spherically-curved surface thereof and having a polar orifice, said casing secured to the disk member of the joint.

2. In a universal joint, the combination with an intermediate member and two shaft members, one comprising a disk having horns by which it is pivotally connected to said intermediate member, the other shaft member likewise pivotally connected to said intermediate member and havinga spherically-curved rear face, of a spherically-curved casing inclosing said second shaft member and fitting closely to the spherically-curved surface thereof and having a polar orifice, said casing secured to the disk member of the joint. and packing material interposed between said casing and said spherically-curved shaft member.

3. In a universal joint, the combination with an intermediate member and two shaft members, one comprising a disk having horns by which it is pivotally connected to said intermediate member and having also one frictionsurface of a friction-brake, the other shaft member likewise pivotally connected to said intermediate member and having a spherically-ourved rear face, of a spherically-curvcd casing inclosing said second shaft member and fitting closely to the spherically-curved surface thereof and having a polar orifice, said easing secured tothe disk member of the joint.

4. Inauniversal joint, the combination with an intermediate member and two shaft members, one comprising a disk having horns b v which it is pivotally connected to said intermediate member and having also a brakeflange, the other shaft member likewise connected to said intermediate member and having aspherically-curved rear face, of a spherically-ourved casing inclosing said second shaft member and fitting closely to the spherically-curved surface thereof and having a polar orifice, said casing secured to the disk member of the joint.

5. Inauniversal joint, the combination with an intermediate member, and two shaft members pivoted thereto, one of said shaft members having a spherically-curved rear face, of a spherically-curved casing fitting over and coacting with said spherically-curved face and secured to the other shaft member, and having a polar orifice, said casing removable by moving it backward from the shaft member having the spherically-curved face.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

C. IV. SllClCh).

Witnesses:

J. A. MCKINNEY, Mrs. M. A. SMITH.

IOO 

